Legumes Are Nature’s Recipe to Lower ‘Bad’ Cholesterol!

Cholesterols are not all bad. It is an essential fat obtained from our diet, which supports the cell membrane. However excess mounts of cholesterol or bad cholesterol can make our body go for a toss. Not only does more amounts of cholesterol make us suffer from hypertension but also deposits on our arteries and make us prone to heart attacks.

Researches from United States and Canada have found out that consumption of oil free legumes like beans, kidney beans, chickpea, lentils or peas reduce the risk for heart attacks by 5%. A daily consumption of quarter cup of legumes is suggested by health officials. Bad cholesterol or LDL (low density lipoprotein) is a major threat to increasing problems in cardiovascular events. Daily consumption of legumes is an easy recipe to put major health threats at rest by 5 to 6%.

There are no guidelines on how to consume legumes in health policies, as they are over all considered healthy whether cooked as pulses or eaten raw in salads. Leading health officials from the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center in Canada also added that patients suffering from hypertension can have regular intake of legumes, along with their daily dosage of statins. In a work published by Dr. John Sievenpiper in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, he has elaborated on the positive health effects of statins and intake of legumes. Statins are a class of prescribed drugs, which inhibit the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase and lower cholesterol levels in our body.

To this Dr. Chip Lavie, medical director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Preventive Cardiology, Louisiana also added, “It is a well-known fact that high-soluble, fiber-rich foods, like legumes, produce significant effects on LDL numbers and actually add to the cholesterol-lowering effects of statins.”

Nutritionists and epidemiologists have realized the metabolic effects of legume consumption and their health effects as opposed to red meat. Other health issues like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and chronic heart problems can also be resolved by introducing legumes in our diet.